DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF ROAD RAGE

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Traffic fatalities in the United States increased slightly last year for the fourth consecutive year. That is bad news indeed, though, according to some safety experts, not quite as bad as it seems because the rate of fatalities per mile declined.

There is much worse news within the overall numbers--an exceedingly disquieting statistic with ominous portent for the future. For years, in analyzing fatal crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has charted the influence of aggressive driving, so-called road rage. Now it has put that into perspective with a chilling conclusion.

Aggressive driving was a factor in up to two-thirds, or about 28,000, of the 41,907 highway deaths last year. And the more serious the crash, the more likely that aggressive driving was involved.

You know these drivers by their behavior: excessive speed, reckless lane-switching, tailgating, running stoplights and signs, passing on the right, honking horns and flashing lights, screaming and making obscene gestures. The most dangerous combination is when one instigates and one retaliates--in some cases using guns, knives or their cars to settle a dispute.

And it is getting worse. A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that "violent, aggressive driving" increased 7 percent a year since 1990.

But why? One factor may be physical: Traffic increased by 35 percent since 1987, but new roads by only 1 percent, fueling driver frustration. And there seem to be psychological components, from emotional disorders to the general decline of civility and deference in society--the "me first" pugnacity.

Either way, it is senseless, deadly behavior that undermines all the other strides made toward reducing highway fatalities--and the remedies are not easy.

Increased police patrols would help, with a particular focus on drivers showing aggressive behavior. But the best remedy is self-defense: Quell your own rising rage when provoked and stay out of their way. Remember, that lunatic in the next lane may kill you.